Kidsdata.org offers data on parent perceptions of their children's overall emotional health, stress level, and whether their child may be depressed. Also available is a measure of parental depression: parent reports of whether they have needed help with depression since becoming a parent.

In addition to parent perceptions, kidsdata.org offers data on youth reports of depression-related feelings in a separate Emotional Health topic.

Emotional health includes self-confidence, the ability to form and maintain caring relationships, coping skills, optimism, and the ability to make positive choices. Sound emotional health, which is more than the absence of mental disorders, is critical to equipping young people for the challenges of growing up and living as healthy adults (1).

Depression is one of the most common emotional health problems among teens, estimated to affect 15-20% of youth under 18 in the U.S. (2). In 2011, almost 30% of high school students nationwide reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness – one indicator of depression (3). Youth diagnosed with depression often experience significant impairment in peer, family, school, and physical functioning (2, 4). Depressed teens also have higher rates of other emotional and behavioral health problems, such as anxiety, drug use, aggressiveness, and suicidal behavior; and they are more likely to experience depression and other psychological problems as adults (2, 4). In addition, rates of serious chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, are higher among individuals with depressive symptoms (5). Depression can be especially difficult to detect in children, as it can manifest differently in young people than in adults (4).

Although some stress can be beneficial, stress can harm children when it is intense, persistent, uncontrollable, and when children have inadequate resources for handling it (6). Excessive stress, particularly when a child does not have adequate supportive relationships, can increase a child's lifetime vulnerability to stress-related physical and mental illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety disorders, and addiction (6).

Children with at least one depressed parent are at a higher risk of adverse behavioral, developmental, psychological, and health outcomes both in the short and long term (7, 8).

Sources for this narrative:

1. American Psychological Association. (2012). Emotional health. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/topics/emotion/index.aspx
2. Jaycox, L. H., et al. (2009). Impact of teen depression on academic, social, and physical functioning. Pediatrics, 124(4), e569-e605. Retrieved from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/4/e596.full.pdf+html?sid=a7050435-b8ce-45e7-a73e-8cdd78d4ed3e
3. Child Trends Data Bank. (2012). Adolescents who feel sad or hopeless. Retrieved from: http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=adolescents-who-felt-sad-or-hopeless
4. Brent, D. A., & Birmaher, B. (2002). Adolescent depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 347, 667-671.
5. Katon, W. J. (2003). Clinical and health services relationships between major depression, depressive symptoms, and general medical illness. Biological Psychiatry, 54(3), 216-226.
6. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2005). Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain. Retrieved from:
   http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/reports_and_working_papers/working_papers/wp3/
7. Sills, M. R., et al. (2007). Association between parental depression and children’s health care use. Pediatrics, 119(4), e829-e836. Retrieved from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/4/e829.full.pdf+html?sid=4193ecb2-5806-442b-aa45-8bc150277018
8. Pilowsky, et al. (2006). Family Discord, Parental Depression, and Psychopathology in Offspring: 20-Year Follow-Up. Journal of the American Academy on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45(4). Retrieved from: http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567%2809%2962065-7/abstract

In 2010, about 86% of California children were in good or excellent overall emotional health, according to their parents. However, roughly one in 10 children in California were in very poor, poor, or fair overall emotional health; poor/fair emotional health was more common among children from low-income households. About 6% of all children suffered from depression or were likely depressed in 2010, according to parents. Children in households with annual incomes less than $25,000 were more likely to be depressed (12%) than children in households with incomes over $75,000 (2-3%). Roughly 39% of children in California experienced an average level of stress in 2010, while 30% experienced low or very low levels of stress, and 11% experienced very high or high levels of stress.

About a quarter (26%) of children in California had a parent who reported needing help for depression since becoming a parent, according to 2010 data.

• American Academy of Pediatrics: Behavioral and Mental Health
• Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, American Institutes for Research
• Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University
• Child Trends: Youth Development
• Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Center for Children in Poverty: Children’s Mental Health
• National Institute of Mental Health: Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents Knowledge Path, Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA)
• Teen Depression: A Guide for Parents and Teachers, Helpguide.org
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families

• Building Strong Families: A Study of African American and Latino Parents, 11/2004, Search Institute & YMCA of the USA, Roehlkepartain et al.
• Building Strong Systems of Support for Young Children’s Mental Health: Key Strategies for States and a Planning Tool, 06/2011, National Center for Children in Poverty, Smith et al.
• Children’s Mental Health: What Every Policymaker Should Know, 04/2010, National Center for Children in Poverty, Stagman & Cooper
• Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey, 10/2009, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Exploring the Links Between Family Strengths and Adolescent Outcomes, 04/2009, Child Trends, Moore, Whitney & Kinukawa
• Impact of Teen Depression on Academic, Social, and Physical Functioning, 2009, Pediatrics, Jaycox, L., et al.
• Promising Practices from the Healthy Returns Initiative: Building Connections to Health, Mental Health, and Family Support Services in Juvenile Justice, 05/2010, The California Endowment, i.e. Communications
• Racial Gaps in Early Childhood: Socio-emotional Health, Developmental, and Educational Outcomes Among African-American Boys, 05/2011, National Center for Children in Poverty, Aratani et al.
• Realizing the Promise of the Whole-School Approach to Children’s Mental Health: A Practical Guide for Schools, 2011, National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention, Bershad, C. & Blaber, C.
• Reducing Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children, 01/2008, National Center for Children in Poverty, Knitzer, Theberge & Johnson
• Reducing the Burden of Depression in Youth: What Are the Implications of Neuroscience and Genetics on Policies and Programs?, 02/2013, Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 52, Issue 2, Supplement 2, Patel, V.
• The Mental Health of Adolescents: A National Profile, 2008, National Adolescent Health Information Center, Knopf, Park & Mulye
• Unclaimed Children Revisited: California Case Study, 04/2010, National Center for Children in Poverty, Cooper et al.
• What Works to Prevent or Reduce Internalizing Problems or Socio-Emotional Difficulties in Adolescents, 12/2011, Child Trends, Terzian et al.

• 2010 California Parent Survey (Includes Los Angeles and Bay Area Breakdowns), 2010, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health
• Key Issues for Low-Income Latino Preteens in Santa Clara County, 12/2005, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, The Aguirre Group
• Santa Barbara County Children's Scorecard, 2010, Santa Barbara County KIDS Network
• The Developmental Assets Survey: Young People Talk About Growing Up in Silicon Valley, 2011, Project Cornerstone
• Tulare County Children’s Report Card 2010, 2011, Children's Services Network

add your report to kidsdata.org

Do you have a local or regional report relevant to a topic on kidsdata.org? If you’d like to add it to our research and links section, please send it to us at kidsdata@lpfch.org.